Close to Home S55
by Bad Day at Black Rock
Summary: A normal account of a relatively normal life.  The apocalypse was stopped, Sam is gone, so now what?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: This fic is part of a series based on the episodes of Supernatural. The characters and plots belong to the creator and writers for the show. If you want background on the OCs you can read the previous episodes.

Close to Home

"Sam!"

Kayla nearly came out of her skin as he yelled out and she took a moment to steady her breath. "Dean." She spoke softly and reached over to touch his arm. "It's just a dream." She _had_ gotten used to the nightmares, but they seemed to stop for awhile. The violent yelling had simmered into restless awakenings.

"Yeah," He grumbled. "Reality is probably a lot worse." As per recent tradition, he sat up and grabbed the bottle next to the bed. "I'm sorry I woke you up, I told you I felt one coming. I should have slept in the other room."

"I don't want you to sleep in the other room." She sighed and took the bottle out of his hand, replacing it in its spot in the drawer. "The baby doesn't mind my miniature heart attacks. Keeps him on his toes."

"Right. I'm sure that's good for him." He continued to stare at the drawer. It had been a particularly vivid one tonight.

"You okay?"

The sudden craving for booze slipped away and he laid back down against his pillow. "Awesome."

She slid her hand across his chest and kissed his shoulder. "It's been awhile, what was it?"

He shrugged and let the anxiety from the nightmare settle some before speaking. "The same, it's always the same." He kissed her on the forehead. "It's alright. You need to sleep."

"No, it's okay." She sat up and turned the lamp on. "Let's go for a drive."

He wanted to. During the really bad spots, jumping into the Impala and driving aimlessly cleared his head. Before he could accept the proposal he saw her shifting her weight to get to her feet and sighed quietly. "Come on babe, it's two o'clock in the morning. You don't need to be doing all that heavy lifting."

"Please." She laughed and touched her rounded stomach. "I've held guns heavier than him."

They could go back and forth for awhile but he decided to save himself the trouble and skip to the part where she wins. She was kind of adamant about giving him what he needed, especially when it came to coping with Sam.

The first two months after the showdown in Lawrence were the hardest. From an outside standpoint anyone would say Kayla was dealing remarkably well, and that her parent's ranch was the perfect place for recovery. Of course things couldn't be that easy. When she was younger the house was her haven, her favorite place to stay as it was secluded and perfect for peace of mind. But Dean was persistent about moving to protect them and she didn't even bother enjoying the property as she once did. She never roamed the quiet paths at night, or just sat outside in the afternoon to take in the serenity of it all.

Instead, she focused all her efforts on house hunting. She scoured real estate ads and the internet looking for the perfect home to raise the baby in; the perfect neighborhood to have a normal family. This took a lot of time, given that she did background checks on everyone the neighborhood once she found a house she was interested in. There were several things about a person that could issue a red flag for them, and not just a criminal record. In fact it was the opposite. A background in the government, law enforcement, or any kind of investigation wasn't great. They ask a lot of questions. It took time, but it was good for her, it kept her busy. Dean thought she was doing well, and not once did she break down, well, not in front of him. He never saw her cry for Sam, just as Cas had told her.

Dean had taken back to the drinking habits from when he returned from hell. A swig first thing in the morning, a beer after meals, a couple shots before bed, and whatever he had closest to fill in between. He told her it took the edge off, helped him keep his mind off of Sam but it was a lie. For the longest he was all he ever thought about and the booze just killed a little of the intensity of the memories. While Kayla was house hunting, he was in the garage tinkering with all the cars she'd kept from her dad, the cars she kept just for him. They didn't really need work, but he did it anyway. Replacing wires, changing the oil, tightening bolts, waxing, detailing, whatever he could do to keep himself busy.

The nights were a different story. He hated sleeping altogether because he had no control over his dreams. To say his nightmares were violent would be putting it lightly. All his memories of hell flooded back into him as he imagined Sammy taking his place at the rack. It would be worse for him than it was for Dean; Alastair simply wanted him to take his place as the inflictor of torture. Sam was trapped in a cage with Lucifer and Michael, and they had nothing but time and hatred on their hands. Every morning he would wake up in a cold sweat, yelling, swinging, always dreaming of Sam. Always dreaming of trying to save him, and never being able to. And every morning he would reach for that bottle, trying to drown out the sounds of his brother's cries for help.


	2. Chapter 2

Dean had been surprised, but only mildly fought her when she suggested her final decision on the house. It was a ridiculously suburban, quiet subdivision complete with homeowner's association, but most of all it was a mere two hours from Bobby. She explained that this was the best choice for several reasons. Hunter or not, Bobby was family, and she wanted the baby to have family around. If something were looking for them, the last place they would expect would be near anyone they know. Lastly, God forbid, if something were to come for them, having a hunter they could trust nearby would certainly be a help.

The neighborhood was middle to upper-middle class, and their new home wasn't the largest in the neighborhood but it was definitely in the top five. It was two stories, not including a decent sized unfinished basement that would be perfect for storing certain hunting items they didn't need laying out in the open. There were four bedrooms: a master bedroom, a nursery, an office, and what Kayla designated as Dean's personal space. She had designed the whole thing with vintage cars, his favorite rock bands and a mini bar, along with a hell of a home theater. It was pretty awesome. As much as he argued that he didn't need his own room, on the really bad days, it felt good to kick back, blast Zepplin loud enough to make the house shake and knock a couple drinks back.

Kayla's pride of the house was the nursery. Of all the other rooms, this was the only one that got the full makeover. New floor, new paint, new fixtures, the works. Everything was color coordinated, every decoration and stuffed animal carefully picked out. The drawers and closet were already filled with the most ridiculously adorable clothes Dean had ever seen. This kid was spoiled before he took his first breath.

"_Augh." _She looked distastefully at the phone as it rang and glanced to the clock. Seven A.M. didn't used to be early for her. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Is everything okay?"

Kayla glanced over and saw Dean wasn't in bed. "Shannon, hey, yeah. Everything's fine, why wouldn't it be?" She walked towards the bathroom and heard the shower running.

"Well I heard that Impala start up in the middle of the night, I was afraid you might have gone into early labor or something." Her voice was laced with curiosity. "But I figured if you had, you would have called me."

She laughed quietly. "Yes, I would have called you. You've made sure of that. We were just, you know, burning the midnight oil."

"Okay, well, I'm sorry I woke you. I was just worried something had happened."

The water turned off. "I appreciate the concern."

"Dean's working today right?"

"He's breathing, so yeah." She smiled as he came out of the bathroom. "I trust I can expect your normal nine o'clock visit."

"Absolutely. I got a new Parenting magazine yesterday, and there's an article about lamaze…"

She laughed. "I'll see you then."

"Bye!"

Dean pulled a t-shirt over his head as she hung up the phone. "A little early for her exuberance isn't it?"

"Yes." She kissed him softly and sat back on the bed. "She heard us leave this morning, she thought I may have gone into labor and forgot to call her."

"Oh God no." He said flatly. "I'm sorry, I mean, oh my gawd…"

"Don't laugh."

"I just don't know how you can be friends, after dealing with hunters and monsters for so long."

"She's nice, which is a change I suppose…"

He smirked. "What are you trying to say?"

"It's kind of a lack of options."

He got quiet as he pulled his shoes on. "Thank you, for last night."

She smiled. "Not necessary."

Making nice with the neighbors had been easier than expected. Their next door neighbor, Shannon Crews, was a military wife and mother of a three year old tyrant named Katie. With her husband overseas and not due back for a year, she had nothing but time on her hands and was more than happy to give it to Kayla and Dean.

She introduced them to the other neighbors, made sure they were invited to all the block parties and barbeques, and basically made it her personal agenda to make them accepted into the neighborhood. She and Kayla became fast friends and were as close as they could be considering Shannon didn't really know anything about them, well, the truth anyway.

A few of the neighbors connected the dots when Kayla's name spread around and they knew about the murder of her parents. This actually worked in their favor, as news spread quickly and it kept anyone from asking too many questions for fear of bringing up an unpleasant past. For all anyone knew, Dean and Kayla didn't have to _do_ anything. They were simply fortunate enough to be living off an inheritance. This would typically give them a label of being stuck up, but since they'd chosen a quiet, middle-America neighborhood in South Dakota rather than some mansion on the beach, they were alright by terms of moral character.

The only gossip they managed to keep hearing about was the fact that were together, they were having a baby, but they weren't actually married. Outdated as the idea was, it still seemed to get around. Kayla still wore her ring, but the wedding never happened. She went through a brief period of actual planning; Dean had seen her looking at dresses, shoes, flowers, but what it came down to was the guest list. Kayla had been scribbling notes down on a sheet of paper but seemed to have stopped for sometime. She got that distant look on her face and was interrupted when she got up to answer the phone. Dean walked by and saw the last thing written on the sheet: _Best Man-_ That was it. It was blank, because it should have been Sam. It was the last time she did anything relating to a wedding.

During the moving in process and all the interior design, Dean had managed to keep himself busy overseeing the progress of his home. After everything was done however, the house became deathly quiet all the time and he quickly became restless. After a couple weeks he came home from a drive and informed Kayla he'd gotten a part time job down the street at a mechanic shop. He'd just walked up, offered to work for free a couple hours and impressed them enough to offer him a permanent spot with the company. After a couple weeks they'd offered to pay for his certification and gave him a full time position. Kayla knew she was, and he'd never admit it, but she thought he was pretty proud of himself over it.

Dean getting to do something he loved without involving decapitation and burning bones led to him gaining a few drinking buddies of his own. As time went by he and Kayla molded into a 'normal lifestyle' like they'd done it all along and things got better. As they made a life together, he didn't think about Sam as much. His brother's pained expression didn't manifest itself around every corner, his voice didn't echo through every dream. He never forgot, and he never made peace with it, but it got easier.


	3. Chapter 3

Kayla stood in the doorway of the nursery like she did every day, wondering how on earth they were going to pull this off. Each day she came up with more questions, or simply mulled over the biggest existing ones. Would they be good parents? More importantly, could they even make the transition from being hunters into parents at all? They history wasn't a good one, but they were determined to change it. They didn't want to raise their son into hunting and going by the hunters they knew, that meant stopping, and even that may not keep him from it. How could they keep him from making his life into something that was so engraved in theirs? He would have questions one day, about what they did, and hunting sounded awesome to an impressionable child. The only alternative would be to lie, and that didn't sound great either.

A knock at the door pulled her out of her thoughts and she pulled the nursery door shut. Out the hallway window she could see an old car in the driveway. It wasn't familiar, and it was definitely out of place in this neighborhood. She went to the master bedroom to check the security system. They had hidden cameras throughout every room of the house, taking in each and every angle every hour of the day. The perimeter outside was also heavily rigged with cameras, motion detectors and alarms. Cautious was putting it lightly. She switched the camera to show the front door. Ironically enough, it was a hunter. It was Bobby.

Kayla jogged down the steps and couldn't help the twinge of excitement to see a familiar face. She pulled the door open with a smile. "Bobby!" She stopped. "What happened to you? You look like hell."

"Yeah? Well you look like you swallowed a watermelon." He smiled.

"Come in." She stepped aside and let him in, then locked door behind him. "You didn't even call, it seems like forever since we've even heard from you."

He shrugged and she knew he was taking in his surroundings. "You sent me the address, I saw it wasn't far. Thought I'd stop by on my way home from the hunt."

"Yeah? What'd you kill?" Hearing it come out of her mouth after so long made it seem…_ab_normal. How strange. She had him follow her into the kitchen.

"Nothing big. Shapeshifter."

"Nothing big? Bobby that's awesome, you took it out by yourself?"

"I'm not _that_ old."

She laughed and handed him the first aid kit. "Obviously not."

"Thanks." He popped it open. "You don't want to hear about that, where's Dean?"

"Working, he should be home any minute."

He stopped to look at her. "Working?"

"Not, that kind of working."

As if on cue Dean practically busted the door coming in. "Kayla?" His tone was urgent; he'd seen the unfamiliar car in the driveway and his mind went straight to the horrible possibilities.

"It's just Bobby!" She called from the kitchen.

"Bobby." His voice changed instantly and he walked into the kitchen with a grin. "Hey man, long time no see."

"Would you look at you." He tried to look amused, but the approval was plain on his face as he saw him covered in grease. You could almost call it pride. "Honest working man."

"I'm trying." He gave him a quick hug and kissed Kayla before going to the sink to wash his hands. "What brings you by?"

"Just on my way home." He repeated and closed the first aid kit.

"He killed a shape shifter all by his lonesome." Kayla cooed.

"No wonder you look like shit." Dean laughed. "You should hang out awhile, at least have dinner."

"I'm alright, got a couple hours left to drive."

"Come on Bobby that's nothing." He hit him on the shoulder. "When's the last time you got to eat real food?"

"Probably the last time Kayla cooked at my place." He admitted. "It's been awhile."

"Kind of answers itself now doesn't it?" Dean cracked his knuckles. "I'm gonna fire up the grill."

Bobby watched him head out the back door. "Should I be worried?"

"Nah." She laughed. "He's gotten really good with the grilling. _Really_ good, actually."

He nodded, then ran the next question over in his mind. He wasn't sure if he was even ready to ask. "He seems happy."

Kayla bit her lip. "He gets a little better every day." She sighed. "Or maybe his front is getting better, I don't know. Just don't bring him up, please. I'd hate to see him back track."

That answered one question. "I was wondering if I should even come."

"No, it's great." She smiled. "Pretending none of it is real isn't going to fool anyone, especially Dean. I'm glad you came."

"You heard from Cas?" Dean asked as he came back in.

"Me?" He looked surprised. "No, haven't you?"

"Not a peep." He motioned to Kayla. "Of course, his owner hasn't called him."

She rolled her eyes. "Quit saying that. Cas is busy rearranging the heavens if you don't remember." In truth she was kind of surprised he never came around. They hadn't seen him at all since he brought them back.

Dean saw the change in her expression and he quickly changed the subject. "Come on and let me show you around." He motioned Bobby out of the room. "There is one room you just gotta see."


	4. Chapter 4

Holding on to normal conversation was a stretch, especially for the three of them all together at the table. Bobby complimented Dean on his grilling, Kayla on the house and both of them for the life they'd made. It was genuine; Bobby wanted this for them, more importantly he wanted it for Dean. He deserved a family and he'd earned his happiness. Bobby would have faked interest in paint colors if it meant keeping Dean off subject, but he was the one who asked about his hunt.

"Ah you know how it goes, you've done it enough." Bobby circled the details.

"Come on man." Dean urged him. "Spill it."

Bobby grimaced but appeased him by spitting out a short account of the hunt. He didn't offer up any graphic details; he didn't offer up anything that would peak Dean's interest.

Kayla was a bundle of nerves after dinner and she tried to load the dishwasher without shaking. Dean and Bobby had gone into the garage for a couple beers and she resisted going with them. She didn't know what she was so worried about, surely Bobby wouldn't ask him for help, or to go on a hunt with him. Even if he did, Dean wouldn't go, right?

She didn't think she'd ever know what was really going on in Dean's mind. He seemed to have adjusted as well as anyone could expect under his circumstances. He _seemed_ to be happy, relatively. Every day he got a little better, a little more laid back, but there was always this deep rooted fear that it was all a front. That he was doing this for her, and that he would only be able to play house for so long.

"I don't know man." Dean tossed the empty beer bottle into the trash. "She's got the money, her friends say I'm a trophy husband."

Bobby laughed quietly. "We should all be so lucky."

"Shut up." He grabbed another beer. "It's all faking a smile through barbeques and dinner parties, talking about 'problems at home' with the guys at work." He laughed. "They think they have problems. They don't know problems."

But he saw the look on his face; the amused tolerance, the satisfaction. He shook his head. "You don't have to be tough with me boy, it's okay to like it."

"It's not." Dean grimaced. "Bobby he gave his life for this."

"And he wanted you to be happy. We all do Dean, why do you have to put yourself through this? If Karen were here…" he paused and composed himself. "I wouldn't be hunting if she were still here. I'd rather have this, right here."

He hesitated but admitted it. "It's kind of like, the thing I didn't know I was waiting for."

Bobby smiled. "You're gonna be a good dad."

"I wouldn't go that far." He smirked. "Don't tell anyone I'm into all this."

"Who would I tell?'

Content laughter was heard from inside the house and Dean smiled. "That, right there, is probably one of my favorite sounds on this planet. And I hear it all the time now."

"Who's she talking to?"

"I'd have to with our neighbor…she probably came to check on us since there's an 'unreputable' vehicle in the driveway."

"Nosy neighbors huh?"

"Kayla prefers 'concerned'." He led him back into the house and found Kayla in the kitchen with Shannon and her daughter.

"Hey Dean!" Katie piped cheerfully, her face lit up with excitement.

"Hey short stack."

She giggled ridiculously as she did any time Dean spoke to her, the tiny tot had a huge crush. "I'm taller today."

"Yeah, you look taller." He agreed and nodded to Shannon. "How's it goin'? Bobby, this is Shannon, Shannon, Bobby…"

"Hi!" Shannon smiled and shook his hand. "Kayla was just telling me that you came by for a surprise visit. Are you all excited to be a grandpa for the first time?"

Kayla caught his side-glance and tried not to laugh. She had told her that Bobby was Dean's stepfather.

"Oh yeah." Bobby mustered up. "Thrilled to be labeled as old."

"With age comes wisdom." Shannon noted. "I'll leave you guys alone, I just wanted to say hi. Have a good night."

"Aw mommy, can't we stay? Pretty please?" Katie tugged at her sleeve.

"No sweetie, they have a guest. We'll see Kayla tomorrow now come on."

Kayla waited for the backlash as the front door shut.

"That's great." Bobby nodded. "Grandpa."

"Come on _grandpa._" Dean patted his shoulder. "Get your bag out of the truck."

"Hell no." He pretended to be insulted. "Calling me old. This old man can drive in the dark."

He didn't push him because he knew that he was still a hunter first more than anything and well, hunters were uncomfortable around prolonged exposure to civilians. Not that they were quite civilians, but they sure as hell were surrounded by them.

"You okay?"

He smiled. "Yeah." And he actually was.


	5. Chapter 5

_The next day in the new life of Dean Winchester._

_Buzz…buzz…buzz…buTHWACK._ He stared at the clock for a moment; it was rare that the alarm would wake him up. No nightmares last night, that was good start to a Friday morning. With the surprise visit from Bobby he'd thought for sure his subconscious would go into overdrive and produce a nice graphic replay of a not so distant memory, but the alarm was good. When his eyes could focus he sat up and stretched, then turned to Kayla and she smiled at him sleepily. She never slept through the alarm, she wasn't trained that way. Everything woke her up. He leaned over to kiss her and her hand slid around the back of his neck.

"Good morning." She murmured softly.

It was, it was a great morning. "Good morning." He stroked her hair. "Go back to sleep."

"I was kind of going in a different direction."

She tugged his fingers towards her and he smirked. "It is Friday."

"And what's a little bit late for work gonna matter, on a Friday?"

"That's great work ethic." He slid in next to her again. "I like it."

Like he said, it was a great morning.

Like any other weekday morning, he took a shower while Kayla made breakfast and he was out the door in no time. The short drive to work was so familiar he could have done it forward and backwards blindfolded, and every morning the same working neighbors waved to him as he passed. He knew all their names, he knew all their stories. They probably didn't know, but there were no secrets deep enough to keep it from him and Kayla.

He punched in twenty minutes late and nodded to his boss in his office as he passed. "What's happening man?"

Knowing he should be mad but still smiling he looked up from his computer. "Dean, what was it today? The eighth labor scare?"

He chuckled quietly. "Yeah let's go with that."

His boss, everyone called him Dodge, didn't give him too much crap about anything. He came in, did his job and didn't stir up trouble. Dean did notice that if he ever stood too close to him he'd back off. It was kind of amusing in a way; he'd never acted remotely threatening towards anyone but the guy seemed a little nervous around him. There must be something about hunters.

The rest of the staff could care a less. They were pretty damn laid back and started in with jokes and bullshitting from day one. The easy camaraderie made the days go faster. There weren't any trust issues; he didn't feel like he had to look over his shoulder every time he had his back turned. If he needed help the help was there without even asking for it. Things were just easier.

Typically he would go home on his break, but since it was Friday, his lunch break was spent at the diner up the street with a couple of the other guys. They couldn't drink before going back to work, but this is when the weekend plans were made. Where the parties would be at, which teams were playing and which ones they bet on to win. Dean honestly couldn't stand to watch Football. He didn't see a point other than the better you play the more money you made, and what was the point in that? Where's the entertainment in watching to see which player's paycheck was going to get bigger? It was just mindless entertainment but it was tolerable; it gave Kayla a chance to talk to the wives and girlfriends.

After lunch he finished off another four hours and headed home, where dinner was waiting on the table as it always was. He used to ask her not to, he'd tell her to wait and he would take her out, or he would grill, but after enough lost arguments he just accepted it. They always went out Saturday nights anyway.

"Hey." She smiled brightly and kissed him as he came into the kitchen. "Eww." She wiped her hands on a dish towel. "Grease monkey."

"Yeah a little." He washed his hands again. The game's at Steven's on Sunday.

"Great, I like his wife better." Though she took strides to balance out his habits, she still pulled a beer out of the fridge when he got home.

Accepting that she was determined to take care of him was harder than it sounded. She took to this housewife thing with amazing ease. The place was always clean, the food was always cooked. It seemed out of place for a hunter to wait on someone so willingly but she almost demanded it. It made him feel guilty really, because he always thought she was doing it because _she_ felt guilty.

"Any movement on the home front?" He took the beer and slid his hand over her stomach.

"Plenty. He's a kicker, I think he wants out."

"What? Ready to bust out and face the world? Didn't see that coming."

"No kidding."

He sat at the table with her and told her what little news there was from the day at the shop. Everyone around here was pretty close knit, which meant there was always something to talk about, or rather, someone. She told him about her daily visit with Shannon; though she was a stay at home mom she still put Katie in daycare part time, to work on her social skills. Dean was pretty sure it was so she could work on her own social skills, but whatever. She kept Kayla company.

Kayla seemed okay with the stay at home thing, if she wasn't she'd never say. He wondered if their situation was the exact same. If she was actually happy here but making it hard on herself by wondering if he was. It was hard accepting happiness. It was hard being normal.


End file.
